Shutter (2008)

Technically Well-Made, But Few Surprises
Without question, this type of film has been done before. Very similar to the Grudge and The Ring, however the plot is not as sharp as The Ring. Joshua Jackson gives a decent performance, but he is not as intense as he usually is in other films. He does add some credibility to the film, however, and there are a few scenes that will make you jump a little. This is not a gore-fest, obviously, and there are less shocking moments that past films of this genre, but if you are a fan of your basic remakes of J-horror films, this will satisfy your appetite just fine. This is not four or five star quality stuff, but giving it one star is selling it way short in my opinion. It suffers from only a lack of originality, and nothing more.

[1.5] "Shutter" won't make you shudder, but . . .
you may die laughing at what these filmmakers consider scary. What is scary is that anyone kept a straight face while filming this latest Asian influenced horror film.

**This review may contain some minor spoilers**

Simply put, with the focus on "simply", this is a tale of a newlywed couple that moves to Japan immediately after their wedding so that the husband, Ben Shaw (played by the wooden Canadian actor Joshua Jackson of [[ASIN:B000PFU9GA Dawson's Creek]]), can accept a job as a high fashion photographer in a firm that is run by his buddies, Bruno and Adam, who quickly come off as both suspicious and somewhat seedy. Of course, all these young men in this film are once again played with the stereotypical "grunge" look of 5 o'clock shadows and wrinkled suits with no ties and we are again expected to believe these young professionals are "running" a company in Japan which is a country and culture that is known for formality.

Ben's wife, Jane (boringly played by Rachael Taylor from [[ASIN:B000VR0570 Transformers]] who was the British computer geek) is onto this quickly, but says nothing. In fact, her blank expression is the best one she has as an actress and only gives us a small snapshot of her "acting" ability near the end of the film. She is just a blank slate throughout most of this film and that is only part her fault as her director should have demanded more of her or he should have given her more guidance, but then again, the script is tremendously at fault as well and speaking of which . . .

On route to their honeymoon spot in Japan, Jane runs over a woman standing in the middle of the road to which her loving and compassionate husband eventually responds with "Don't let something like this ruin our honeymoon." He follows that up with "She's probably fine" since she didn't stick around --even though BOTH the front and back tires rolled over her, bouncing the car like crazy into a ditch. I kid you not. These lines were said; they are direct quotes from this incredible unbelievable and hugely unintentionally funny Asian influenced horror yarn that is beyond cliche-ridden.

After this "tragic" event that is nothing more than a blip on their radar scope, Jane "sees" the ghost of this woman she ran over in her husband's photographs, in misty images, and in reflections all over the place. So does her husband who seems to want to keep it all to himself and make his wife believe she is nuts as he's crawling around on the floor while attempting to allude this ghost in a sensationally and unintentionally funny moment that is followed up with a "Hi dear" when his wife discovers this episode. This film is filled with moments like this and I can't help but point out another one in which Ben takes a photograph of himself that includes the ghost . . . not kidding now . . . sitting on his shoulders and he runs around trying to get her off. Only Jim Carey could have done this moment funnier. I, my whole family, and the entire theater I watched this film in was dying with laughter. This is a horror film??????

Now add to this that the Japanese ghost easily reminds one of the ghost in [[ASIN:B0006SGYL0 The Grudge]] and that film has, unfortunately, been parodied to death. In fact, there is nearly nothing original in this film that copies almost every Asian horror flick known to man. Combine that with lackluster, nearly boring, acting by all involved, tiresome overused special effects, pedestrian direction and you get a film that is a real failure. The only positive thing I can really say about this film is that it gave me and my family a very unexpected laugh. It deserves the 1.5 star I gave it and below is my rating (or "ranting") scale in connection to food:

* = hopeless (may cause intense nausea or death)
* 1/2 = poor (you may survive viewing this film, but Pepto-bismol may be required)
** = mediocre (may leave a bad after taste in your mouth)
** 1/2 = acceptable (this is like eating your not-so-favorite cold cut sandwich - nothing special, but fills your gut)
*** = good (goes down easy enough, but you wish it was a better more substantial meal)
*** 1/2 = very good (you feel well feed after this one)
**** = excellent (glued to the screen while eating your favorite snack w/o guilt)
**** 1/2 = outstanding (you feel like you are at your favorite all-you-can-eat buffet)
***** = masterpiece (you feel like you are at your favorite all-you-can-eat buffet where you can't gain any weight . . . or the film is just a personal favorite and may not truly deserve a 5 star rating --lol) "

-Steve, 3/25/08

Barely worth the time to write the review!
SHUTTER is the sort of film on which I'll spend more time writing this review than I did actually thinking about the movie after it was over. Its goals are so mundane and modest. Its efforts to reach that goal are equally modest. It diverts the viewer for its 85 minute running time, but when it's over, you spend virtually no time with your viewing companions discussing it. One hour later, you've practically forgotten you've seen it.

SHUTTER is another one of those films set in Japan with creepy spirits in the form of young Japanese girls. (see THE GRUDGE, original RING movies, etc.) At least in this case, the ghost is modern and specific. It doesn't change forms or appear to be various other spooky things. (Remember how in THE GRUDGE, there were many different manifestations to confuse things?)

The story follows a newly married couple who move to Japan so the husband (Joshua Jackson) can continue his work as a commercial photographer. They do take a couple of days to have a brief honeymoon, and on the drive to their cabin, the young wife (played by Rachel Taylor, whose only previous work with which I'm familiar was a small part in TRANSFORMERS) crashes into a young woman standing in the middle of the road in her nightgown. From this point on, "unexplainable" things begin to happen...though most of them revolve around strange images of this girl appearing on every photo the couple takes (or has taken). It's a "spirit photograph" we're told. (Apparently these are a fascinating subject in Japan, with entire magazines dedicated to their depiction and discussion. At least, that's what SHUTTER wants us to believe...I have no idea if it is true, but I am skeptical of anything this film offers about Japanese culture.)

The young bride is pretty much left to her own devices because hubby Jackson has to plunge into his grueling work of photographing beautiful models while his lovely young "assistants" paw inappropriately all over him. The couple lives in a loft apartment connected to the studio, but it is a hideously ugly dump (despite the couple's "ooohing" and "aahing" all over it). So Taylor heads out into the city, and to the film's credit, we get a good sense of how foreign a young, tall, blonde American woman with no Japanese skills would feel in this gigantic, bustling city. Taylor is like the vapid, superficial version of Scarlett Johanssen's character in LOST IN TRANSLATION (how's that for a shout-out you didn't expect).

As Taylor digs deeper into the source of her spirit photos and the odd accident she was in...the truth about some American men behaving very badly in Japan begins to sink in, and she finds herself almost on the side of the spirit. This is a twist on what we usually expect in "vengeful spirit" movies, and again, I give the film a little credit for this.

What the film lacks, however, are any real chills. We're SO accustomed to these kinds of mild, PG-13 horror flicks now that it fails to build any tension. There are a couple of very brief "gross-out" killings, but other than that, this film is more about atmosphere rather than jump-out-of-your-seat thrills. That would be okay, except such a film would then require more thoughtful characterizations than SHUTTER delivers. It would also require good performances. Jackson is totally unbelievable either as a professional photographer, or a loving husband or even as a cad. Taylor shows moments of spunk, but mostly is asked to mope around. And special mention goes to John Hensley, who has managed to absolutely bug the crap out of me in NIP/TUCK for 5 years (he plays the irritating, stupid and hard to look at son Matt). He's equally reprehensible here. Normally, I try to be kind about physical appearance...but Mr. Hensley is the least attractive young man working in films/TV today.

So I cannot recommend SHUTTER, even on a modest level. It is forgettable in every respect. Maybe on a slow day at the video store, you can rent it. Otherwise, save your money.